Nonprofit Bowery Residents Committee Buys LIC Homeless Shelter Site for $22M

Homeless services nonprofit Bowery Residents Committee (BRC) has acquired a homeless shelter development site in Long Island City, Queens, according to property records made public Wednesday.

BRC bought the six-story project at 38-80 11th Street for $22.2 million from nonprofit development firm Urban Builders Collaborative (UBC), records show.

UBC filed plans in December 2024 to construct a 146-unit homeless shelter on the site specifically for use by BRC as a family shelter. UBC’s plans for the shelter on 11th Street between 36th and 37th avenues include classrooms and nurseries, as well as space for counseling, child care and medical assistance. The project was still being developed as of August.

It was not clear how the sale of the property to BRC would affect development plans, if at all.

BRC did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while UBC managing partner Matthew Gross could not be reached for comment.

While data on how many New Yorkers live on the streets at any given time are notoriously unreliable, it was estimated in November 2025 that the homeless population registered in New York City shelters was around 101,978, according to Coalition for the Homeless.

Roughly 350,000 people were estimated to be homeless in New York City in October 2025, the organization said in a recent report.

The New York City Comptroller’s office described the skyrocketing homeless population as “stubbornly high” in a 2024 report with the population in shelters operated by the New York City Department of Homeless Services growing 175 percent from 22,955 people in January 2000 to 62,679 in January 2020.

Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.